How Steph, Klay gave Moody his ‘welcome to the NBA’ moment originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Moses Moody was lucky enough to play with two future Hall of Famers in his rookie Warriors season, competing alongside the iconic Splash Bros duo of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.
And, unsurprisingly, both gave Moody a couple of hilarious “welcome to the NBA moments” when he was tasked with defending them in practice during the 2021-22 NBA season.
“My welcome to the league moment was probably before the season started, guarding Steph in training camp and practices and all that,” Moody said on the latest episode of “The Draymond Green Show.” “And it’s different than seeing him on TV, when he hits you with that same move. That was my welcome to the league moment.
“[You’re] thinking you’re playing good defense because he’s not going past you, but it’s like, he ain’t trying to. He’s trying to get space for the shot.”
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By the time Moody entered the league as Golden State’s No. 14 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Curry already had three championship rings and two MVP titles to his name, in addition to countless other accolades. It’s evident the 3-point king took no pity on his new rookie teammate — and neither did Thompson, who returned to the court just a few months later that season after back-to-back lower leg injuries.
“There was another [welcome to the NBA moment], too,” Moody continued. “My rookie year was when Klay was coming back, so Klay ain’t on the court yet and all that in the beginning. So when he first started getting back on the court, they got me working out with him all the time.
“But when I first started working out with him, I’m like, ‘Man, this dude’s been out for two years, he’s been hurting,’ all that. He’s coming back — I ain’t trying to be the one that hurts him … I ain’t even really [trying], but then he ain’t hooped in a while, so he’s getting straight to it. He’s killing.
“I had to forget all that, lock in and play … especially in the beginning, he’d be killing it. … I’m thinking he’s just trying to warm up, get back into the flow of things. Nah, he’s straight to Game 6 Klay.”
While Thompson no longer is on the Warriors since departing for the Dallas Mavericks in NBA free agency this past offseason, he, Curry and Moody went on to win the 2022 NBA Finals together during Moody’s rookie season — a fourth title for the two seasoned veterans.
Moody, now 22 years old, certainly learned a lot from the Splash Bros and has developed into a steadfast option in coach Steve Kerr’s rotation, earning the shooting guard a three year, $39 million contract extension last month ahead of his fourth pro season.
And despite all of Moody’s success in the league so far, he’ll always remember how Curry and Thompson showed him what the NBA is all about.